THE TURNPIKE COMES TO TRING.

“Susannah Hannokes an elderly woman of Wingrave Bucks was
accused of being a witch, and the proof offered was that she
had bewitched her neighbour’s spinning wheel, so that she
could not make it go round either one way or the other.
The alleged witch was publicly weighed against the Church
Bible. A great concourse of people flocked to the
parish Church of Wingrave to witness the ceremony.
Being stript of nearly all her clothing the woman was put
into one scale and the bible in the other. To the
astonishment and mortification of her accuser, the alleged
witch actually out-weighed the Holy Book. The result
was that she was honourably acquitted of the charge.”

From the Tring Vestry
Minutes for 1759.

It is incredible to learn that such an absurdity should still occur in
an age when Britain’s trunk road system as we know it today was
taking shape, but such was the case.

The Tring to
Bourn Bridge turnpike.

This chapter deals mainly with the Sparrows Herne Turnpike Trust, which
for over a century administered the highway connecting Bushey Heath and Aylesbury,
via Watford, Kings Langley, Two Waters, Berkhamsted, Tring and Aston
Clinton. Most local readers will have heard of it. What is less known is
that for a short period towards the end of the 18th century a
second
turnpike road extended from Tring to Bourn Bridge in Cambridgeshire. The Bourn Bridge turnpike, or at least the Tring
to Royston section of it, appears to
have been short-lived, but the
reason for its early demise is a matter of conjecture.

In 1769, two turnpike trusts — the Stevenage and Biggleswade in
conjunction with the Hitchin and Bedford — sought to take over a large
section of the Icknield Way. However, in that year a separate turnpike
trust was established to administer the road in two districts, from
Tring to Baldock and from there to Bourn Bridge near Pampisford in
Cambridgeshire. Subsequently the trustees obtained an Act:

“. . . . for repairing the Roads leading from the Turnpike
Road in Tring [i.e. the Sparrows Herne], in the County of
Hertford, through Dunstable, Hitchin, Baldock, and Royston, to
the Turnpike Road at or near Bourn Bridge; and from the West End
of Wellbury Lane to the Turnpike Road at the South End of
Barton, in the Counties or Hertford, Bucks, Bedford and
Cambridge.”

9 Geo. III c.86, 1769.

When the Act became due for renewal in 1790, the trustees published a
curious advertisement in the press in which they informed the public
that they would meet at the Sugar-Loaf Inn, Dunstable, on the 24th
September 1790, to decide for which of three options they would renew
their powers. Each option referred to a different section of road;
option 1, was for the entire road from Tring to Bourn Bridge, while
options 2 & 3 were for the sections between Dunstable and Barton, and
between Barton and Baldock respectively.

One presumes that the turnpike road as originally set up wasn’t paying
its way and the principal aim of this meeting was to decide what part
of it was worth keeping and making the subject of a renewed Act of
Parliament. The outcome was that the section of road from Royston to
Bourn Bridge continued as a turnpike until it was discontinued in 1874,
[1] but it appears that the Tring section was
abandoned as a turnpike in 1790 and reverted to a parish
maintained road, for there is no further mention of Tring in connection
with it.

――――♦――――

The Kilburn Bridge to
Sparrows Herne turnpike.

As the 18th century progressed, the population of London grew. This led
to a corresponding increase in road traffic, including a considerable
weight of livestock being driven on the hoof to the London markets. But
the roads of the time were rarely up to the job of conveying the
increasing volume of traffic, as is
evidenced by a petition presented to the House of Commons in 1711. This
stated that the section of the London to Watford road from Great
Stanmore to Kilburn was so damaged by the multitude of carriages and
passengers that it was almost impassable for six months of the year.
Roads in such condition had an obvious detrimental impact on trade, and
this gave
impetus to the formation of the Kilburn Bridge to Sparrows Herne
Turnpike Trust, who obtained “An Act for repairing the Highway
between a certain Place called Kilburn Bridge, in the County of
Middlesex, and Sparrows Herne, in the County of Hertford” (10 Anne
c.3) to administer the offending section of highway. [2]

――――♦――――

The Sparrows Herne turnpike.

The Sparrows Herne
toll-gate at Bushey Arches.

A further half century was to elapse before the turnpike road was
extended towards the rapidly developing industrial town of
Birmingham (which became a city in 1889). In December, 1761, newspaper advertisements appeared
soliciting the names of those willing to sign a parliamentary petition
to create a turnpike trust to manage the 26-miles of road between
Sparrows Herne at Bushey and Walton on the outskirts of Aylesbury,
there to join the Wendover and Buckingham turnpike: [3]

“Such Gentleman, Clergy, Freeholders, Land Owners, and Inhabitants,
residing in and near the Road leading from Sparrows Herne on Bushey
Heath, through Bushey, Watford, and part of the parish of Abbots
Langley, to Kings Langley and Two Waters, Part of the road to Hemel Hemelhemsted, and through Boxmoore, Bourne End, Berkhampsted St.
Peter’s, Northchurch, and Tring in the county of Hertford, and thence
through Aston Clinton, and part of the Parish of Weston Turvile, to join
the Turnpike Road at Aylesbury, leading to Buckingham in the county of
Bucks, and desirous to apply to Parliament for leave to erect a Turnpike
to amend, repair, and widen the said Road, are desired to meet on Monday
the 4th Day of January next at the King’s Arms in Berkhampsted St.
Peter’s; Wednesday the 6th, at the White Hart in Watford; Thursday the
7th, at the Bell in Hemelhempsted; Friday the 8th, at the Rose and Crown
in Tring; Thursday 14th, or Friday the 15th, at the George in Aylesbury,
in the Forenoon, to approve and sign a Petition to the Hon. House of
Commons for that Purpose.”

Ipswich Journal, 26th December 1761.

The Act being granted, the board of trustees acquired powers . . . .

“. . . . for amending, widening and altering and keeping in repair the
road from the south end of Sparrows Herne on Bushey Heath, through the
market towns of Watford, Berkhamsted St. Peters and Tring, by
Pettipher’s Elms to the Turnpike Road at Walton, near Aylesbury.”

2 George III, c.63 1762.

. . . . in return for which they received the legal right to charge
traffic on the road a toll according to a schedule set out in the Act,
the revenue so raised to be spent on maintaining and improving the road,
and on administration. Cary’s road map of 1790 covers the joint
routes of the Kilburn Bridge and Sparrows Herne turnpikes from Hyde Park
to Tring ― see
Appendix I.

The rates of toll were to be painted on notice boards displayed at each
turnpike gate. Some categories of vehicles and travellers were permitted
to use the turnpike free of charge, these being corn and grain going to
market; unladen carts; carts carrying manure for the parish; ploughs,
harrows and instruments of husbandry; animals going to shearing, pasture
or water; soldiers on the march; vehicles carrying the Royal Mail;
vagrants being returned to their parish of domicile; vehicles carrying
voters to elections; and those attending church or funerals (however, to
encourage observance of the Sabbath, from 1803 vehicle traffic was
charged double the toll on Sundays).

As the tables below illustrate, the tolls changed over the years and new
classes of traffic, such as the stage coach and steam-powered vehicles,
were added.

For every four wheel carriage fixed in any manner
or any waggon etc. empty . . . .

4½d

For every four wheel carriage fixed in any manner
or any waggon etc. empty . . . .

9d.

For every beast not drawing . . . .

1½d

Every drove of oxen, cows, neat cattle, per score
. . . .

10d

Every drove of calves, swine, sheep, or lambs,
per score . . . .

5d.

For any dog, goat or any suchlike animal drawing
any cart, carriage, trunk, barrow or other suchlike carriage . .
. .

4½d

For every carriage propelled or drawn by steam or
other power than animal power or attached to and drawn by any
carriage so propelled or drawn, for each and every horses power
of the engine or other power drawing or propelling such a
carriage . . . .

4½d

The Sparrows Herne turnpike thus became a link in a chain of turnpike
roads extending from London via Kilburn, Watford, Buckingham and Warwick
to Birmingham.

The volume of traffic with the capital increased rapidly. By the early
19th century the turnpike had become a decided success; indeed, in
describing Berkhamsted, one writer felt inspired to mention it:

“There is an exceedingly good road from London through
Berkhampstead, to Tring, Aylesbury, &c. and is two miles and a
half nearer than the other road by Amersham. The chief trade is
bowl turning, shovel and spoon making; lace is made here by
women.”

The British Metropolis and its Neighbourhood,
David Hughson D.D. (1809).

The turnpike attracted many new residents to its locality. In 1808, before
its surfaces were macadamised (around the 1820s), Tring could be reached from London by way of the Edgware and Sparrows
Herne turnpikes in 5½ hours; by the 1830s, when the stagecoach
business was in its prime, the same journey took 15 minutes less:

“JOSEPH HEARN ― Respectfully announces to his Friends and the Public
generally, that the above coach will leave his office, the King’s Arms
Inn, Snowhill, London, at FOUR o’Clock every afternoon (Sunday
excepted), arriving at Two Waters Quarter past EIGHT, Berkhamstead,
Three quarters past EIGHT, Tring Quarter past NINE, and Aylesbury
Quarter past TEN, proceeding throughout to Kidderminster, in SIXTEEN
hours, stoppages included.”

Bucks Herald, 14th December 1833.

The turnpike trustees.

The trustees first met on the 7th July, 1762, at the King’s Arms,
Berkhamsted, [4] nine being present at the initial meeting. The relevant
page of the Trust’s minute book is illegible in places, but among the
names written clearly are Thomas Herbert Noyes, John Sear of Grove (now
Grove Road, Tring), John Dashwood King (later baronet), and Windmills
Crompton. Those present “took and Subscribed the Oath as directed by the
said Act before they took upon themselves the Trusts and Authoritys
vested in them by the said Act”. The room taken in the King’s Arms being
too small to accommodate the remainder of the trustees, they then “Adjourned to
the Schoolroom in Berkhampstead Saint Peter to meet immediately”. Charles Gore M.P. of Tring Manor took the chair, and a further 115
trustees were then sworn, plus two Quakers who were affirmed. [5] Among
those present were no less than 20 members of the clergy.

Throughout its existence the Trust included a sprinkling of
distinguished members, among whom were the Justices of the Peace of
Hertfordshire and of Buckinghamshire; members of the nobility (such as
the Duke and the Earl of Bridgwater; the Marquis of Salisbury; the earls
of Essex and Clarendon; and Viscounts Lake and Grimston); and local
notables, who over the years included the distinguished surgeon Sir
Astley Paston Cooper, landowner Sir John Dashwood King, Thomas Toovey,
owner of the Kings Langley flour mill, the paper manufacturer John
Dickinson, and one Joseph Hamilton, described in the 1823 Act as a
Doctor of Divinity. Until 1773, the general turnpike law of the time
did not mandate property qualifications, but trust Acts often included
such provisions. [6] In the case of the Sparrows Herne Trust,
the trustees
were required to fulfil certain property qualifications or possess
personal assets to the value of £1,000.

The law required the trustees to meet annually, although particularly in the early
years when there was more business to conduct the Sparrows Herne
trustees met more often (there were also frequent meetings during the
major road improvement projects that took place in the 1820s). As
the early road improvements were completed, trustee
meetings became less frequent and less well attended. In 1771, too few
attended the full meeting to elect new trustees, but such declining interest
among the trustees corresponds with the experience of turnpike trusts
in general.

Clerk, treasurer, surveyor and gate-keepers.

The roles of a turnpike trust’s clerk, treasurer and surveyor are
described in Chapter 2.

William Hayton junior, a solicitor resident at Stocks House, Aldbury,
served in the dual role of clerk and treasurer from the Trust’s
inception until his retirement in 1806, discharging both roles
throughout on an honorary basis. [7] Harry Grover, a solicitor from
Hemel Hempstead, then served as treasurer and clerk at a salary of £50
per annum until 1822, when these roles were separated by law. [8] Grover
then relinquished the position of Treasurer, but continued in his paid
employment as Clerk for a further four years.

Following Grover’s retirement, William Smith and Charles Ehret Grover,
solicitors of Hemel Hempstead, served as joint clerks to the Trust until
Smith resigned in 1856, having being declared bankrupt. Grover then
continued assisted by his partner, William Stocken, his practice
handling the legal work until the Trust was terminated in 1873.

Following the separation of the roles in 1822, that of treasurer
continued to be held on an honorary basis by, among others, the Earls of
Bridgewater and of Clarendon, and the royal surgeon, Sir Astley Paston
Cooper, who later became a fierce opponent of the 1832
London &
Birmingham Railway Bill.

The first surveyor was Paul Jollege ― appointed at the trustees’ second
meeting “according to his said proposals” ― at a salary of 100 guineas
per annum from which he had to provide two foremen and equipment, which
included two ploughs, sixteen wheelbarrows, forty pickaxes and forty
shovels. He received periodic cash sums from the trustees with which to
pay expenses as they arose. The role of surveyor was later held by the
distinguished road engineer, James (later Sir James) McAdam.

Among the least distinguished of the Trust’s employees were the
gate-keepers, although they later left the payroll when the management
of the toll-gates was contracted out. While in the Trust’s employ,
gate-keepers received rent-free accommodation and a wage
of 10s 6d a week for manning their gate day and night, from which they
were expected to provide lamp oil to illuminate the gates during hours
of darkness. They were also required to provide the trustees with a
surety for £20 against dishonest conduct.

Few gate-keepers were literate, and thus able to keep proper accounts,
while the random nature of the business made the misappropriation of
funds difficult to combat. All that was possible was to carry out spot
checks on toll income to see if it corresponded with daily averages for
the period, and by checking receipts against the types of traffic
observed to be passing along the road.

SPARROWS HERNE TURNPIKE.

NOTICE is hereby given, That the next Meeting of the Trustees of this
Turnpike-Road will be holden at the King’s Arms Inn, In Berkhamsted
Saint Peter, in the County of Hertford, on Thursday the ninth Day of
April, 1801, at Ten of the Clock in the Forenoon; when amongst other
Business they will take into Consideration the Removal of Veeches
Turnpike-Gate nearer to Aylesbury, and the Erecting of a Weighing-Engine
on some part of the said Turnpike-Road between Sparrows-Herne and
Walton, and will nominate and elect a Tollgate-Keeper of the New Ground
Turnpike Gate, in the Room of Elizabeth Buckmaster, Widow, deceased; and
will also nominate and elect new Trustees of the said Turnpike-Road in
the Room of those who are dead. ― Dated this eighteenth Day of March,
1801.

WILL HAYTON

Clerk to the said Trustees.

A typical agenda for a trustee meeting.
Northampton Mercury, 21st March
1801.

A cross-country packhorse train.

It is interesting to note from the above advertisement, that women
sometimes occupied the post of gate-keeper. The need for day and night
attendance, and to extract the appropriate toll from uncouth
packhorse and livestock drovers, must at times have made the
gate-keeper’s lot an arduous one. Some examples of turnpike
offences are listed in Appendix II. Two of the Trust’s gate-keepers
were murdered for their takings (Chapter
7), hence the trustees . . . .

“. . . . ordered that a Pistol with a fixed Bayonet be provided for each
of the Toll Houses instead of a short gun as ordered at a former
Meeting, and that Clocks or Dials be provided for the out side of the
Toll Houses.”

Minute Book, 21st July 1823.

The pistols were subsequently acquired for the sum of £7.

Gate-keepers’ living conditions appear to have been primitive. In 1816,
the toll-house at New Ground, Tring, was found to be in poor condition. The fireplace and wash house needed repair due to the walls falling
down, and new bolts, window shutters and a bell were needed. But apart
from structural problems, the condition of the place reflected badly on
its tenants, for their backroom was found to be very dirty and full of hens
and chickens, and the interior was in need of whitewashing. The
condition of the road labourers could not have been any better:

“At this Meeting the Trustees ordered an Allowance of Four Shillings a
Week should be made to William Horwood of Aston Clinton who has been
employed as a Labourer on the Road for Eleven years in which Service he
was wounded in the Eyes by a Flint, and has lost his sight.”

Minute Book, 15th November 1823.

The Trust’s toll-gates.

“It is ordered that the Clerk do agree with some Clock Makers in the
Neighbourhood of the several Toll houses for keeping in order the Clocks
belonging to the Toll houses, and for regulating the same from time to
time.”

Minute Book, 22nd March 1824.

At their first meeting, the trustees had to decide where to locate their
toll gates. Following objections from Lord Hyde (who did not want a gate
near his mill) and from Lady Essex, that at Hunton mill was relocated to
a position between Ridge Lane and Nascott Farm house (in the Hempstead
Road). Four toll gates were eventually set up, and, with some
relocation, these remained until 1860 when a fifth gate was erected at
the top of Tring Hill. These five remained in use until the Trust was
terminated in 1873. Several of the gates also had ‘side-gates’ (a.k.a.
‘side-bars’), which were fitted across roads that led off the turnpike,
their purpose being to prevent traffic from avoiding the toll by using
side lanes to bypass the toll-gates. Turnpike roads were also well
fenced, again to prevent traffic avoiding the toll by making a detour
through adjacent fields.

From Bushey northwards, the toll-gates were located at:

Watford — at the bottom of Chalk Hill, between the River Colne bridge
and the lane leading to Hamper Mill (Eastbury Road). Side gates were
later erected across the lane leading to Oxhey (Pinner Road), and, from
1857, across Villiers Road, Oxhey. In 1815-16, a weighbridge was erected
opposite the tollhouse. It was removed in 1847.

Ridge Lane — originally half-a-mile south of Ridge Lane, to the north of
Watford. In 1823 this gate was relocated to the entrance of the Cassiobury estate, with a side-gate on Ridge Lane itself. There were
also side-gates further north on roads leading to Leavesden; between
1828 and 1840, across Mains Lane; and, from 1854, across Russell Farm
Lane (now Russell Lane).

New Ground — south of Tring, near New Ground Farm in the parish of
Wigginton. This gate was at the junction of the turnpike and the Wiggington and Aldbury road (Hemp Lane/Newground Road), on which a
side-gate was also erected. In 1833, further side-gates were erected
across the Twist and Oddy Hill lanes, which led off the turnpike between
Tring Park and Pendley Beeches.

Veeches gate — was located between Veeches Farm (now Vatches Farm) and
Veeches Water to the west of Aston Clinton. In 1810, the gate was
relocated some two miles further west near the lane connecting Bierton
and Broughton with Weston Turville, and renamed Weston gate. Following
completion of the new road into Aylesbury in 1827, the gate was
relocated about half-a-mile from the town centre, with a side-gate
across Mill Road, and renamed Aylesbury gate. In 1829, a further
side-gate was erected across Broughton Lane. This was later removed, but
re-established in 1841 with its own toll-house.

Beggar Bush Hill (now known as Tring Hill) — in 1860, a new gate was
erected at the top of Beggar Bush Hill in the parish of Drayton
Beauchamp together with a side-gate across Upper Icknield Way leading to
the hamlet of Bulbourne. This gate was probably sited at the point where
the Tring to Bourn Bridge turnpike, mentioned at the start of this
chapter, commenced.

The early days.

At the outset there was much work to be done. Land for widening was
bought (sometimes given), toll gates erected, and brick toll-houses for
the gate-keepers were built at a cost of around £25 each. Flints and
pebbles were gathered by villagers from the fields as part of their
statutory road labour obligation, which, together with gravel supplied
from local pits, were spread over the road after it had been levelled,
cleared of obstacles, and the ruts filled in. Oak mile posts were
erected showing distances from London measured from the beginning of the Tyburn turnpike.

Trustees call for lists of
those liable to do statute duty (i.e. unpaid work on the road).Northampton Mercury,
1st October 1808.

A request
for tenders to build a new River Colne Bridge.Northampton Mercury,
23rd July 1770.

Other improvements were teams of horses to help traffic up steep hills,
the felling of trees along the line of the highway, and making the road
a uniform width. The Trust could prosecute those with land bordering the
road for failing to keep their hedges and fences in good repair so that
neither overhung the road. Good fences were particularly important. In
November 1762, Isaac Dell (who held land bordering the Wigginton Road
and the toll gate at New Ground) was paid 10s. a pole (5½ yards) to set
quickset hedges strengthened by oak stakes and beech rails, and he was
paid the same rate for maintaining them. Good hedges prevented
travellers bypassing the toll gate through adjacent fields and livestock
from straying onto the road. Luke Lewin, a builder from Abbots Langley,
was employed to build a new bridge at Hunton mill. He was paid 40s a rod
(5½ yards) for the brickwork, the trustees found the materials, and the
miller was paid 10s a day compensation for each day he was required to
let down the water in the millpond during the work. To help pay for
these improvements, the Clerk advertised in the London Chronicle for a
loan for £2,000 with interest at five per cent secured on the tolls, the
first of numerous such loans raised by the Trust.

Although the bulk of the annual 6-days per man statute labour went
towards maintaining the parish roads, turnpike trusts were entitled to a
proportion of it, 2-days per man in the case of the Sparrows Herne. Thus, until statue labour was abolished in 1835, the surveyors of the
parishes through which a turnpike passed (not to be confused with the
Trust’s surveyor) were required to provide the trustees with lists
people liable to perform unpaid statute duty and to provide draught
teams and wagons. As an alternative, the parish could pay the Trust a
cash sum in lieu of statute labour — after 1807, Hemel Hempstead and
Watford regularly paid ‘composition’ money, Watford remitting £40 in
1809. Jollege, the turnpike surveyor, set to work using three gangs of
twenty men each, the Duke of Bridgewater (the ‘Father of Canals’)
supplying gravel free of charge from his pits.

By 1764, sections of the road from Hunton Bridge to Berkhamsted were in
use, and use of the whole road appears to have commenced in 1765. The
road was then divided into sections, with one or two men taking care of
each: for instance, two men looked after the section through King’s
Langley parish up to the Bell at Two Waters, each being paid 6s a week.

In 1770, the trustees decided that a new bridge was required across the
Colne at Watford, and advertised for a contractor to undertake the work.
They awarded the contract to Edward Gray of Bushey, builder, for the
construction of a seven-arched brick bridge “over the water at the
bottom of Watford Town”. Member of Parliament Thomas Herbert
Noyes, referred to in the bridge advertisement above, must have been a
hard man to work for, in times when life was hard. In this entry,
written in Constables’ Accompts for a vestry meeting on 13th October
1767, he left instructions for curbing labourers’ perks:

“When Workmen, Carpenters, Bricklayers, &c. are employed to
do parish work I see no reason for giving them Beer over & above
their wages; I will allow no such charge.”

Road modernisation.

It is interesting to note the unflattering remarks made by the great
Civil Engineer and road builder, Thomas Telford, on the state of the
London to Birmingham road via Watford. While his opinion was not
directed solely at the Sparrows Herne Trust, it might have influenced
the trustees’ thinking, for a “crooked, narrow, and ill constructed”
road was unlikely to attract the lucrative stagecoach traffic between
the expanding town (as it then was) of Birmingham and the Metropolis:

“Between London and Birmingham there is already a Turnpike Road,
by Watford, Tring, Buckingham, and Warwick, their main points
nearly in a direct line; but the present Road is so crooked,
narrow, and ill constructed, that for a great thoroughfare Road
the whole would have to be new made; therefore the Coventry
Road, which also forms part of the communications with Chester,
Liverpool, and Manchester, seems the nearest great Road now in
use; and is in my opinion the most advisable to be adopted as
part of the London and Holyhead Road.”

During the 1820s, the Trust undertook a major road
improvement programme. Aspects of this appear to have first been
considered some years before any work commenced, for in 1816 the Clerk
advertised for a contractor to reduce the gradient from Aston Clinton
to the summit of Tring Hill to one foot in seven yards (1:21, or 4.8%),
but nothing further was done at the time.

Sir James Nicoll McAdam (1786-1852),
civil engineer.

In 1822, the trustees appointed James McAdam Surveyor to the Trust.
James was the second son of the famous road engineer John Loudon McAdam,
and at the time of his appointment to the Sparrows Herne had acquired a
substantial reputation as a road engineer, to the extent that he had . .
. .

“. . . . accumulated 40 surveyorships from Sussex to Lincolnshire,
with an aggregate of 858 miles of road under his control. His
gross salary was £3,479 p.a., from which he had to pay his assistants.
Reader has calculated that at the height of his career, he was earning
between £2,000 and £2,500 clear of expenses, a figure that would place
him well up the table of professional salaries. In return the
turnpike trusts received the attention of a competent and tireless
professional always on the move and accustomed to spending at least
three nights a week away from home.”

The Trust’s first thoughts on
reducing the gradientof Tring Hill.Northampton Mercury,
19th October 1816.

Following McAdam’s appointment, his fee was set at £100 per annum and
that of his assistant, Mr. Creed, [9] at 52 guineas
per annum.

The Trust then set about an extensive modernisation programme, work that
was carried out under McAdam’s overall direction with Creed doing the
detailed planning, sourcing the materials and supervising activities.
As the task involved realigning and extending sections of the existing
road, an Act of Parliament was required to give the Trust powers for the
compulsory purchase of land and the demolition of existing buildings.

However, by this time it had also become necessary to renew the Trust’s
powers, last granted in 1803 for the usual period of 21-years (43 Geo.
III c.39, 1803). And so the 1823 Act (4 Geo. IV c. 64, 1823) both
extended the Trust’s term and included the powers necessary to acquire
private land for the realignment of the road through Nascott Farm (north
of Watford), and also for its extension from Walton into Aylesbury. Those
particular sections of the Act are somewhat detailed, but an extract
from its Preamble summarises the trustees’ objectives:

“And whereas it would be nearer and more commodious to the
Public if the course of the said road was diverted at or near
and through the Lands of Nascott Farm, in the Parish of Watford,
to join and communicate with the said Road at or near a certain
Lane called Ridge Lane leading out of the said Turnpike Road
towards Leavesden in the County of Hertford and also at or near
the turn or curve in the said Road on the Northern Side of the
Dwelling House of James Senior, Esquire in the Hamlet of Walton,
in the said County of Buckingham, and proceeding through certain
Inclosures, Lands, Messuages, Buildings, and to join and
communicate with the Oxford, Buckingham, and Cambridge Roads,
near the George Inn , at Aylesbury aforesaid.”

4 Geo. IV c. 64, R.A. 23rd May, 1823.

Following the passage of the new Act, the trustees met to consider their
programme of improvements:

“At this Meeting also the several projected Improvements on
the Road at Nascott, Hunton Bridge, the Dunsley end of Tring,
Beggar Bush Hill
[Tring Hill] and Aston Clinton were taken into consideration
. . . . It is resolved that it will be expedient to carry such
Improvements into Execution . . . .”

Minute Book, 9th
June, 1823.

At the same meeting the Clerk was instructed to ask the Exchequer Loans
Committee (in effect, the Government) “if the money wanting to
compleat (sic.) these works can be obtained from that Committee”, [10]
while the Surveyor:

“. . . . do likewise cause Inquiry to be made of the
different parishes in the Neighbourhood of those parts of the
Road where such Improvements are proposed, or other Parishes, if
they shall be willing to contract for the supplying Materials
either in the whole or broken flints, and upon what terms . . .
.”

Other than the improvements at Nascott and at Aylesbury, and some
cottages to be taken down at Hunton Bridge, the 1823 Act does not refer
to a number of other projects that were planned at this time, [11]
while the only enlightenment offered by the Minute Book is that
the tender submitted by James Bull of Tring was accepted for unspecified
work at Dunsley . . . .

“And the Trustees ordered that the necessary arrangements be made
with the Tenants of the cottages at Dunsley for their quitting, and that
a convenient spot be fixed upon with the Lord of the Manor to which the
Pound may be moved.”

Minute Book, 21st July,
1823.

. . . . the “Lord of the Manor” being William Kay, builder of the
Tring Silk Mill, who was paid £248 15s for the land used for this
particular scheme, while the tenants of the cottages referred to
received compensation totalling £4 17s.

The extension of the turnpike from Walton into Aylesbury also involved
tenants “quitting”, the property to be demolished including the
Crown Inn, which, in the custom of many public houses at the time,
brewed its own beer. [12] This is evident from the sale notice
below, for the trustees were quick to auction the resalable demolition
materials to help finance the cost of the work.

Auction advertisement for the sale
of materials from the propertiesdemolishedduring the construction of the Aylesbury extension.

Bucks Gazette, 25th March
1826.

Press advertisements also appeared seeking loans, first for £10,000 with
interest at 4%, but when there were no takers and the loan was
eventually raised at 4½%. A further £1,500 with interest at 5%
soon followed, both being secured on the toll income.

The turnpike improvement programme at Aylesbury was completed in January 1827:

“The Surveyor reported to this Meeting that the new line of road into
Aylesbury is complete and the Trustees ordered that the old road from
the turn near Mr Senior’s to Walton shall be stopped up And that the
Surveyor do affix up notices accordingly at each point where the road is
stopped And also at the entrance of the new road near the George Inn,
Aylesbury and that a hand post be put up there describing it as the
London road through Tring Berkhamsted and Watford and the distance and
that the road be lighted and watched at the entrance by the George Inn
for a fortnight.”

Minute Book, 1st Jan 1827.

The turnpike extension resulted in the demolition of old property that
was choking the town centre, and the opening up of the town centre:

“Space was obtained and improvement made by the formation of the New
Road [i.e. the turnpike extension] in the year
1826. Prior to that date the present line of houses on the
east side was continued towards the Bucks and Oxon Union Bank,
until it formed a right angle with the houses then continuing
the line from Cambridge Street; consequently the connection
between Kingsbury and Cambridge Street with the Market Place was
by a very narrow and inconvenient opening, scarcely wide enough
for two vehicles to pass. A further opening was made not
only by the removal of the late Market House, but also by the
demolition of a large block of very old shops and houses
standing in the rear of it, upon the spot now occupied by the
Clock Tower . . . . By the formation of the New Road, a great
deal of traffic was diverted from Walton, and by this road more
direct access was obtained to the centre of Aylesbury.”

Buckinghamshire: A History of Aylesbury with
Its Borough and Hundreds, Robert Gibbs
(1885).

1834 map of Aylesbury. The Sparrows Herne turnpike
is shaded green, its extension to
Aylesbury town centre in red, and the Aylesbury Arm canal in blue. ‘TG’
marks the Aylesbury toll-gate.

Press notices relating to the various changes made during this period
are listed at Appendix II.

There were several alterations to toll-houses and toll-gates ―
including, in 1860, a new toll-house and toll-gate at the top of Tring
Hill ― but there were no further road improvements of significance after
1833. As for James McAdam, his contribution to road administration
and engineering was recognised with a knighthood. Following his
death in 1852, the trustees appointed his son, William, Surveyor in his
place at a salary of £120 per annum.

Leasing out toll
collection.

Other than the toll house at
Bushey Arches, so far as the authors are aware no
image exists of a rural Sparrows Herne toll house. The
picture above is of a toll house near Dunstable on the road
to Kenworth, the design being typical and probably not unlike
those that once stood along the Sparrows Herne Turnpike.

Commencing in 1802, the trustees leased out the operation of the
toll-gates (a practice referred to as
“farming”) thereby converting an uncertain toll income
into a fixed sum
while transferring the management of the gate-keepers to the leaseholder
(who could be a gate-keeper). The gates were initially let for 1
year, but this was later increased to 2 or 3 years as the trustees saw
fit. By law, [13] toll-gates had to be leased at
a public auction, and in their auction advertisements the trustees were required
to state, for each gate, the net amount of the previous year’s proceeds.

The income from the Sparrows Herne gates show a steady increase until the
opening of the London &
Birmingham Railway in 1838 followed by the Aylesbury to Cheddington branch line in 1839, after which
toll receipts declined:

“TURNPIKE TOLLS. NEW ROAD GATE, AYLESBURY. On Monday last, the
13th instant, the tolls payable at this gate, as well as those
payable at the New Ground and Watford gates, were reduced from
4½d. to 3d. each horse drawing any carriage, &c. This is a
boon to the inhabitants of this town [Aylesbury] and
Watford, and we hear that trustees of the Sparrows Herne road
hope to be able at no distant period to remove one or two of the
gates altogether. We are deeply indebted to our
neighbours, Mr. Lovett and Mr. Senior, for their perseverance in
obtaining this advantage. We have heard much of the good
management of this road, and shall probably refer to it again at
some early opportunity.”

Bucks Herald, 18th
August 1860.

This reduction in toll rates had a favourable impact on the bottom line
of the Trust’s accounts:

“SPARROWS HERNE TRUST. On Monday last a meeting of the
trustees of the Sparrows Herne Turnpike-road, was held at the
King’s Arms Inn, in this town [Berkhamstead] F. J. Moore,
Esq., in the chair Col. Dorrien; Moses Lovett, Esq.; E.
Bartlett, Esq.; W. Claridge, Esq.; and several other gentlemen
being present. The accounts of the working of the new
reduced tolls were examined, and found so satisfactory that the
sum of £200 was ordered to be paid off the debt, which was
upwards of £15,000 a few years ago.”

Bucks Herald, 29th
September 1860.

In the turnpike’s early years, the bulk of its traffic was packhorses
and droves of livestock, but from the start of the 19th century the
volume of wheeled traffic increased significantly. It is rare to
find any detailed account of what traffic passed through the gates —
most gate-keepers were at any rate illiterate — but some figures exist
for the New Ground Gate at Tring that provide an interesting insight
into the nature of the traffic passing along the road in the autumn of
1830 and the summer of 1845.

The opening of the London & Birmingham Railway and of the Aylesbury to
Cheddington branch line probably explain the decline in both passenger
and packhorse traffic, while the increase in wagon traffic is probably
attributable to local farmers transporting their produce and manure,
traffic that was affected by the season rather than by railway
competition.

WEEK

CARRIAGES

WAGONS

PACKHORSES

4th-11th Oct. 1830

266

34

132

15th-22nd June 1845

166

46

65

The final toll-gate auction was advertised in April 1873. The
advertisement stated that the tolls for the southern and northern gates
were to be offered for a term of 6-months from March 1873, the previous
income being £650 and £300 respectively. There were no takers.

Public railways were to have a serious impact on the revenues of
turnpike trusts (and more so on those of canal companies).
Wherever a railway opened, competing stagecoach services quickly went to
the wall, which is unsurprising. The stagecoach journey from Tring
to London, for example, took around five hours, whereas that by train
took about an hour and a half. Thus, by 1838, the Sparrows Herne
Trustees were facing diminishing toll income . . . .

“Resolved, that considering the greatly diminished income of the
Trust from Tolls, with the probability of further decrease,
owing to the progressive completion of the London and Birmingham
Railway, and considering the large debt still chargeable to the
Trust (amounting to £10,410) it is incumbent on the Trustees to
institute a close examination into the expenditure with a view
to effect every possible reduction consistently with the
maintenance of the Turnpike Road in good repair. And for this
purpose a Finance Committee be appointed”

Minute Book, 22nd
January 1838.

Although the programme of road improvements had been completed by the
end of 1833, economies were sorely needed in the cost of road
maintenance:

“The duty, therefore, whether as respects the Public or the
Creditors, of reducing the expenditure to the lowest point,
compatible with fulfilling the objects of the Trust becomes
imperative.”

Minute Book, 22nd
January 1838.

In response to the looming risk of insolvency, the trustees appointed a
finance committee of nine members “for the purpose of enquiring into
the practicality of reducing expenditure of the Trust, consistently with
maintaining the Turnpike Road in good repair.” From the
Committee’s deliberations emerged a number of recommendations, among
which were:

“That no allowance be made in future for watering the Road
[to keep down the dust in dry weather];

That money be borrowed, if possible at 4½% to pay off the 5%
debt of £4,110;

That the expense of maintaining the Road on the six County
Bridges, and 100 yards from the Wing Walls, on each side
thereof, which has hitherto been borne by the Trust, be in
future devolved upon the County, who are legally liable thereto;

The Surveyor obtain his stock of surface materials some time
before they are wanted, in order not to be driven to purchase
them at high prices, when he cannot do without them;

That the Surveyor endeavour to procure surface materials some
way back from the immediate line of the Road, in order to
produce more competition, and lower charges.

They [the trustees] desire the Clerks to print, under the
direction of the Surveyor, a Placard relating to the Tenders for
Stones, to be distributed along the line of road, and so far
back as may be thought useful”

McAdam’s salary was reduced from £135 p.a. to £100 p.a.; that of the
Clerks continued at £50 p.a., but this was in future to include all
expenses, except for the cost of preparing leases for letting the
toll-gates. To reduce administrative costs further, rather than
have the trustees meet in response to individual invitations sent out by
the Clerks, future meetings would be held (except for any special
meetings that might be needed) “on the last Monday every two months
for the purpose of receiving Tenders for surface materials as well as
for the General business of the Trust.”

These proposals were accepted by the trustees, which, together with
later reductions in tolls to promote traffic, helped maintain the
Trust’s viability for the remainder of its life.

The Sparrows Herne
Turnpike Trust Acts.

Until the last Act expired in 1866, the activities of the Sparrows Herne
Trust were authorised (as were those of most other turnpike trusts) by a
succession of private Acts of Parliament, each of which ran for a period
of 21-years. At the expiration of each Act, the Trust’s powers had
to be renewed by a further Act (the cost of obtaining which placed a
significant burden on many trusts’ slender resources):

2 Geo. III c. 63, 1762. For repairing road from south end
of Sparrows Herne on Bushey Heath, through Watford, Berkhamsted
St. Peters, and Tring, by Pettiphers Elms to turnpike road at
Walton near Aylesbury, for 21 years from July 1762 (to expire
1783).

4 Geo. IV c. 64, 1823. Repealed preceding Acts and
enabled Trust to divert the road at Nascott Farm and Hunton
Bridge, and construct new a road into Aylesbury. Established
term of 21 years from May 1823.

8 & 9 Vict. c. 9, 1845. Repealed the 1823 Act and enacted
new provisions for 21 years from May 1845.

From 1864 onwards, Parliament began to terminate turnpike trusts. This
was achieved through the Annual Turnpike Continuance Acts, each of which
identified specific turnpike trusts for repeal, while continuing the
remaining trusts for a period of approximately 12 months. This
arrangement continued until the final annual Continuance Act in 1885,
although, oddly, the final turnpike trust ― that administering the
Shrewsbury to Holyhead Road ― was not repealed until 1st November 1895.

The termination of the
Sparrows Herne Turnpike Trust.

Following the expiry of the Trust’s last Act in 1866, until its
termination on the 1st November 1873 (36 & 37 Vict. c. 90, 1873) its
existence in law was continued under the provisions of the Annual Turnpike Acts Continuance Acts.
Following its termination, responsibility for maintaining that part of
the former turnpike road in Hertfordshire passed to the Highway Boards
of the Watford and Hemel Hempstead Districts, except for those parts
that lay within the areas of the Watford and Tring Local Boards of
Health. In Buckinghamshire, control passed to the several parishes
and to the Aylesbury Local Board of Health.

During its existence of over a century the Trust was successful in, as
the Act described it, “amending,
widening, altering, and keeping in Repair”the highway between Sparrows Herne and Aylesbury; and unlike many
others, the Trust remained solvent until its closure having by then
repaid all its debts.

Following the sale of its assets, the net surplus was used to pay compensation for loss of employment to the
surveyor (£200), the clerk (£80), the roadmen and the foreman (£20 & £10
respectively), and the balance (£380 9s. 9d.) was distributed among the
parishes upon which the liability for future road maintenance would
fall, in proportion to mileage.

Settlement of the Trust’s residual
debts:Bucks Herald, 22nd November
1873.

Note the sharp turns in the road at Hunton Bridge, Kings Langley and
Tring,
which the Trust removed during the 1820s.

――――♦――――

APPENDIX II.

EXAMPLES OF OFFENCES COMMITTED ON THE TURNPIKE
ROAD.

Many of what today would be classed road traffic offences are recorded
in the newspapers of the time. The following are a few examples of the
more typical.

FORCIBLY PASSING TURNPIKE-GATE. Timothy Cunningham was charged
with forcibly passing through the turnpike gate at the entrance to the
town of Watford, in the Sparrows Herne Trust, with a horse and van,
without paying the toll demanded of him. The CHAIRMAN said that on
looking over the information, he found that it was laid under the
Highway Act instead of the Turnpike Act, and this appeared to him to be
a fatal mistake. The prosecutor was at liberty to take out a fresh
summons, and also to proceed against him for the assault. If, however,
he wished the case to be settled now, the Bench were willing to go on
with it. The defendant begged that the case might be disposed of before
the Court broke up, as he had come from a great distance. Ultimately, by
permission of the Bench, the parties settled the matter out of doors.

Hertford Mercury, 18th
October 1851.

_______________

REFUSAL TO PAY TOLL. James Worcester was summoned for evading the
toll on the Watford Turnpike-gate in the Sparrows Herne Trust. Thomas
Hart said on Friday, the 27th ult., the defendant passed through the
chain bar at the Watford-gate, on the Pinner Road, with a horse and cart
loaded with dung. In the course of an hour or more he returned with the
cart empty. He passed through the Watford-gate. This was in a contrary
direction to his own house. On being asked for the toll he refused to
pay it, and said that he was entitled to pass through free, as he had
carried dung. As he persisted in his refusal to pay, witness unbuckled
the nose-bag from his horse, and took it into his house. Defendant
requested to be shown the Act of Parliament, and when it was produced he
said he could not read it. He subsequently went into the house, and
carried away the nose bag. Fined 5s. and 13s 4d costs.

Hertford Mercury, 11th
September 1852.

_______________

OBSTRUCTING THE HIGHWAY. George Bone, Rickard King, and Ephraim
Hunt, travelling hawkers, were charged with obstructing the highway, by
pitching their stands on the side of the Sparrows Herne turnpike road.
The charge arose out of the following circumstances: Watford fair being
on the 5th, the defendants did not pack up and leave on the early part
of the following day. This being the case, it was presumed that they had
intended to continue the fair for the second day, to which course some
of the inhabitants had an objection. The defendants said they had hired
the place of Mr. Wilson, who had rented the tolls of the Earl of Essex.
They had always been allowed a day to put up before, and a day to take
down after the fair. They were packing up about eleven o'clock, when
they received notice to leave, and were doing so as fast as they could;
but at one o’clock they were served with a summons, which they
considered rather sharp practice. Mr. CLUTTERBUCK said the police had
exceeded the orders he gave them. The charge was dismissed by the Bench.
On one of the men claiming compensation for coming there at a great
inconvenience and from a great distance, he was told there was no funds
available for that purpose.

Hertford Mercury, 16th June
1855.

_______________

REFUSING TO PAY TOLL. Mr. William Miller, surgeon, of Kilburn,
was charged under the 139th section of the Act, with refusing to pay
toll at the Bushey Gate, on Wednesday, the 12th August. Police-constable
Grover proved the service of the summons: and deposed that the defendant
said he could not attend, and supposed he should have to pay. Edgar
Allen Gotch Said he was collector at the Watford Toll Gate, on the
Sparrows Herne Trust. The defendant endeavoured to pass through the
railway arch to the station without paying toll. There was a chain side
bar and the defendant having gone more than a hundred yards on the
turn-pike road complainant asked him in a civil manner for the toll. He
refused to pay and witness asked him for his card, which he gave him.
The defendant than demanded the ticket, and on witness‘s declining to
give it him till he had paid the toll, the defendant threatened to
horsewhip him, and several times called him a vagabond and a scoundrel.
This evidence having been confirmed by a gentleman named Robert Bacon,
the defendant was convicted and fined £1 and £2 5s. costs.

Watford Observer, 22nd
August 1863.

_______________

RIDING WITHOUT REINS. Henry Ruben Nash, was charged with driving
a hay cart on the Sparrows Herne turnpike road, without holding the
reins. Mrs Nash appeared for her husband. Police-constable Jennings said
on the night of the 13th, between eleven and twelve, he saw the
defendants hay cart going down the High street of Watford, with no one
driving. He found the defendant lying on the hay asleep. He was going
towards London. Fined 1s. and 11s 6d costs. The money was paid.

Watford Observer, 23rd July
1864.

_______________

FRAUDULENTLY CLAIMING EXEMPTION. Richard Mortimer: I am a toll
collector at the Watford gate, on the Sparrows Herne Turnpike Trust. On
the 21st November, the defendant came through my gate with a horse and
cart. He was coming from London. I demanded the toll of threepence, and
he said he had dung in his cart and claimed exemption. I then examined
the contents of his cart and found it had no dung. There was only some
wet straw with a fork stuck in it. He said “It is the first time I ever
did it. I’ll hope you’ll forgive me, and I’ll pay the toll.” He came
back again and offered me a shilling which I refused to take. There was
no one with him.
Cross-examined: You had gone twenty yards beyond the gate before you
would stop.
By the Bench: There was no dung in the cart.
The defendant said there was dung in the cart and called the following
witness:—
William Hobbs, brother of the defendant: The defendant started with some
old thatch which had been under his cart all night.
Defendant said the toll-keeper was tipsy at the time, and threatened to
knock his head off.
The defendant was convicted and fine £1 and 15s. costs, or one month’s
imprisonment.

Watford Observer, 16th
December 1865.

_______________

ASLEEP IN CHARGE ON THE TURNPIKE. Where the driver of a cart
refuses to give his name, the owner may be summoned. You [Lovegrove] are
brought here because your man refused to give his name . . . .
Police-constable Dunn: Last Friday week, the 22nd June, I was going
along the road and saw the defendant riding at full length in the cart.
He was fast asleep. When I awoke him he refused to give his name. I took
the name from the cart. He afterwards gave the name of Chesham.
Lovegrove said he knew nothing about it. He paid the man his wages and
did not see what he had to do with this complaint.
John Chesham deposed: I was fast asleep in the cart when the constable
woke me up. I told him my name was Chesham. I had been out two nights
and was very warm and sleepy.
The defendant was fined 1s. and 15s. costs. In default of payment in a
fortnight to be committed fourteen days.

Watford Observer, 7th July
1866.

_______________

FURIOUS DRIVING ON THE TURNPIKE. Police constable Hammond stated:
On Friday, the 24th June, I was on duty in the High-street a little
after 9 o’clock in the evening, when my attention was called to a mob of
persons near the shop of Mr. Turner, confectioner. I went there, and
while I was dispersing the mob, which had been gathered together by two
men fighting, the defendant, in company with another young man, drove a
pony and cart down the street very furiously indeed. He did not offer to
pull up, but drove into the crowd, knocking down an old man named Sears
and running over his thighs The defendant and his companion were nearly
thrown out of the cart. The old man fortunately escaped serious injury .
. . .
Mr. Turner, confectioner, said that the defendant went at a very smart
rate, but he would not call it ‘furious’ driving. The rate was eight or
nine miles an hour. He told the defendant that it was very imprudent to
go through a mob at the rate he did.
Fined 5s., costs 18s. 6d.

Watford Observer, 9th July
1870.

――――♦――――

APPENDIX III.

CIVIL ENGINEERING DURING THE 1820s.

During the 1820s a considerable amount of civil engineering work was
carried out on the Sparrows Herne turnpike road. The following is a
chronological summary of the related press notices that appeared during
this time.

“The Sparrows Herne Trust are making another very excellent
improvement in their line of road, by cutting through the steep chalk
hill, at the London entrance of the town of Watford, so as to reduce the
hill nearly one half. We are informed that it is the Earl of
Bridgewater’s intention to cut an entire new line of road, so as to
avoid the present dangerous entrance into the town of Tring, and also
that it is in contemplation to lower Beggar Bush Hill, between Tring and
Aston Clinton, which will most certainly be a great public benefit, as
that hill in Its present state is dangerously steep.”

The New Monthly Magazine,
Volume 13, 1820.

_______________

“The trustees of Sparrow's Herne turnpike road, have in contemplation
an improvement of considerable importance to the public; that is by
diverting the present road through the ground of Nascott Farm, at
Watford, so as to enter the present line again at the sixteen mile
stone. By these means will be avoided the dead heavy ride from Watford
down by the park pales of Cashiobury.”

The New Monthly Magazine and Literary Journal,
1st April 1821.

_______________

A great deal of alteration was announced to take place at the Aylesbury
end of the turnpike, including new roadwork that involved the demolition
of a number of buildings:

“. . . . A FURTHER APPLICATION will be made for leave to include in
such Bill POWER TO ALTER or DIVERT the COURSE of the SAID ROAD,
commencing at or near the Turn or Curve in the said Turnpike-Road,
beyond the dwelling house of Joseph Senior, Esq. in the Hamlet of Walton
and proceeding through certain Inclosures, Lands, Grounds, Messuages,
Buildings, and Premises (as delineated on the Plan deposited with the
Clerk of the Peace for the County of Buckinghamshire) into the High
Street of the Town of Aylesbury, between the Market House and the Shire
Hall, and for Powers to take down the necessary Buildings for the
purposes aforesaid, which deviation is intended to pass from, through,
or into several parishes or places of Walton and Aylesbury in the said
County of Buckingham.”

Bucks Gazette, 18th January
1823.

. . . . a further notice informed the public that the road was to “join
and communicate with the Oxford, Buckingham, and Cambridge roads near
the George Inn, at Aylesbury.” Despite the demolition involved in
extending the road, the plan appears to have gained favour with the
public:

“We understand that the Trustees of the Sparrows Herne Turnpike, at
their meeting on Monday last, decided upon applying to Parliament for
powers to vary their road at the entrance of this town [Aylesbury], by
making a new line through the Crown Inn and Hale Leys, and thence in a
direct line over the fields, to join the present road near the residence
of Jas. Senior, Esq. We cannot but congratulate our neighbours upon the
very great improvement that will be made to the town of Aylesbury by
this judicious plan of the Trustees, which will lay open the principal
street near Kingsbury, that is now so narrow and dangerous.”

Bucks Gazette, 15th March
1823.

_______________

Meanwhile another realignment of the road was planned for the vicinity
of Hunton Bridge:

“NOTICE is hereby given, that a BILL is now depending in PARLIAMENT .
. . . in which Bill provision will be made for diverting the course of
the said road at or near Hunton Bridge, in the Parish of Abbott’s
Langley, in the said county of Hertford, such Deviation to commence at a
certain place in the said road called Hunton Bridge Knapp, in the said
parish of Abbott’s Langley, and proceeding in a north-west direction
across the Weir Meadow, in the said parish of Abbott’s Langley,
belonging to the Earl of Essex, cross the river Gade, and the Grand
Junction Canal, and through certain Inclosures of the Rev. Sir John
Filmer, Bart. in the parish of Abbott’s Langley aforesaid, to join and
communicate with the said turnpike-road, at the hand-post, at the three
cross-ways on the western side of the Grand Junction Canal Bridge, at
Hunton Bridge aforesaid . . . .”

Bucks Gazette, 29th March
1823.

_______________

Realignment of the road at Dunsley, Tring:

“TO ROAD CONTRACTORS, &c. SUCH Persons as are willing to CONTRACT for
excavating and forming the proposed ALTERATION of the Sparrows HERNE
TURNPIKE ROAD, commencing at Dunsley, near the town of Tring, and
proceeding into the town, near the pond, are desired to send tenders in
writing to the Office of Messrs. GROVER and SMITH, Solicitors, at Hemel
Hempstead, Herts, on or before the 20th day of July instant, to be
submitted to the Trustees at a Meeting on the 21st instant. A Plan and
Specification of the Works may be seen at the Rose and Crown, Tring; or
at Messrs. Grover and Smith’s. July 4th. 1823.”

Bucks Gazette, 19th July
1823.

Cutting and embankment to be formed at Beggar Bush Hill (now known as
Tring Hill):

“TO ROAD CONTRACTORS, &c. SUCH Persons as are willing to CONTRACT for
the necessary works in CUTTING THROUGH and LOWERING BEGGAR BUSH HILL, on
the Sparrow's Herne Turnpike Road, between Tring and Aston Clinton, are
desired to send Tenders in Writing to the Office of Messrs. Grover and
Smith, Solicitors, at Hemel Hempstead, Herts, on or before the 6th Day
of December next, to be submitted to the Trustees at a MEETING on the
8th of DECEMBER. A Plan and Specification of the works may be seen at
the Rose and Crown, Tring; the Bell, Aston Clinton; at the Office of
Messrs. Grover and Smith; and at Mr. Creed’s, Surveyor, Hemel
Hempstead.”

Bucks Gazette, 22nd November
1823.

“The Contractors, (under the direction of Mr. Creed, the Engineer to
the Trust) have commenced the work of lowering Beggar Bush Hill, and we
congratulate the public on the advantage they will derive from the above
improvement, and most cordially join in commending the liberal spirit
and judicious arrangements evinced by the Trustees of the Sparrow's
Herne Turnpike throughout the whole of their recent various alterations,
following up with a similar zeal the example set them by their late
lamented noble Chairman [the Earl of Bridgewater], whose activity and
perseverance in promoting public improvements are too well known to
require comment.”

Bucks Gazette, 27th December
1823.

_______________

Realignment of the road with a new canal bridge at Hunton Bridge:

“TO ROAD CONTRACTORS, BRICKLAYERS, &c. SUCH Persons as are wiling to
CONTRACT for the necessary Works in ERECTING the BRIDGE over the GRAND
JUNCTION CANAL, and making the New Road at the proposed Deviation of the
Turnpike Road at Hunton Bridge, between Watford and King’s Langley,
Herts, are desired to send Tenders in Writing to the Office of Messrs.
Grover and Smith, Solicitors, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, on or before the
12th Day of April next, to be submitted to the Trustees at a Meeting on
the 13th Day of April. A Plan and Specification of the Bridge and Works
may be seen at the Office of Messrs. Grover and Smith, and at Mr.
Creed’s, Surveyor, Hemel Hempstead. 25th March, 1824.”

Bucks Gazette, 10th April
1824.

_______________

Meeting of Trustees to discuss new entrance at Aylesbury:

“Monday se’nnight [23rd May, 1825] was held, at the King’s Arms Inn,
Berkhamsted, pursuant to adjournment, a meeting of the Trustees of the
Sparrows Herne Turnpike Road, to decide on the proposed new entrance
into Aylesbury. The Marquis of Chandos, the Earl of Clarendon, and
between 20 and 30 Trustees attended. The result of the meeting was an
unanimous resolution to adopt the measure, with a trifling deviation
from the line marked out by Mr. Creed and Mr. McAdam. The undertaking,
it is said, will be commenced without delay.”

Jackson’s Oxford Journal,
28th May 1825.

Compulsory purchase of property at Aylesbury; £10,000 loan:

“At a meeting of the Trustees of the Sparrows Herne Turnpike road,
held at the George Inn, Aylesbury, on Saturday last, all the persons
having property on the intended line of road from Broughton, acceded to
the offers made to them by the Trustees for purchase, with one
exception. It will be seen by an advertisement that £10,000 are wanted
on the security of the turnpike-tolls.”

Bucks Gazette, 18th June
1825.

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£10,000 loan to pay for road works:

“MONEY ON TURNPIKE TOLLS: THE trustees of the Turnpike Road leading
from Sparrows Herne, on Bushey Heath, through Watford, Berkhamsted St.
Peter, and Tring, in the county of Hertford, to Walton, near Aylesbury,
in the county of Buckingham, having occasion to take up at interest TEN
THOUSAND POUNDS for Improvements going on projected on the said Road;
any persons who may be disposed to advance money at Four per cent. on
security of the Tolls, are requested to signify the same to us for the
information of the Trustees, specifying the amount they will lend on the
above terms, and the period at which they will advance it, the whole not
being immediately required. Particulars of the revenues of the Trust may
be had on application to us. By order of the Trustees. June 13th, 1825.”

Bucks Gazette, 18th June
1825.

In May the Trustees advertised for a further loan to pay for “Improvements
taking place”, on this occasion seeking £1,500 with interest payable
half-yearly at 5%.

_______________

“Sparrows HERNE TURNPIKE SUCH Persons as are willing to CONTRACT for
the ERECTION of a TOLL-HOUSE and TOLL-GATES by the side of the New Road
into Aylesbury, are required to send Tenders in writing, to the office
of Messrs. Grover, Smith and Grover, solicitors, at Hemel Hemspsted,
Herts, on or before the 17th day of June, to be submitted to the
Trustees at a meeting on the 19th. A plan and specification of the works
may be seen at the White Hart Inn, Aylesbury, or at Messrs. Creed and
Griffin at Hemel Hempsted.”

Bucks Gazette, 10th June
1826.

――――♦――――

FOOTNOTES.

1. Bourn Bridge Road Turnpike Act 1769 (8 & 9 Geo. III, c. 86).
This Act was renewed at intervals until the road was ‘deturnpiked’ under
the Annual Turnpike Acts Continuance Act 1873 (36 & 37 Vic. c.
90).
2. This turnpike (10 Anne c.3, 1711) seems to have made little
difference to the state of the road, for in 1798 it was said to have
four inches of mud after heavy rain in summer and nine inches all the
winter. (Victoria County History, London, 1971.)
3. From Bushey northwards, the turnpike followed much of the route of
the old A41 trunk road. Since re-classification, the route today
approximates to the A411 from Bushey to Hunton Bridge; A4251 to Upper
Dunsley; B4653 through Tring; Tring Hill (B4009); London Road; Aylesbury
Road; Aston Clinton Road; Tring Road; and the A41 into Aylesbury.
Ordnance Survey maps identify sections of the route in the vicinity of
Tring lying over the remains of the Roman Akeman Street.
4. All subsequent meetings were held at the King’s Arms until the last,
which took place on 23rd March, 1874, at the Berkhamsted Union
Workhouse.
5. Far fewer attended the Trust’s meetings regularly, the number
sometimes falling below the quorum of nine. Important meetings,
particularly those held during the 1820s when significant changes to the
road were being made, were often chaired by a titled person.
6. The General Turnpike Act 1773 introduced a mandatory property
qualification, confirmation of which came within the oath that Trustees
were required to swear (later Acts included a provision for Quakers to
affirm):

“I ‘A.B.’ do swear, That I truly and bona fide am, in my own Right,
or in the Right of my Wife, in the actual Possession and Enjoyment, or
Receipt of the Rents and Profits of Lands, Tenements or Hereditaments,
of the clear yearly Value of Forty Pounds; or possessed of, or intitled
to a Personal Estate to the Value of Eight hundred Pounds, (as the case
may be). So help me GOD.”

“TRUSTEES: No person to be or act as trustee, unless he is possessed
of freehold or copyhold property of the clear yearly value of £100, or
be heir apparent to a person possessed of such property of the yearly
value of £200, and unless he take oath accordingly. Except within 10
miles of the Royal Exchange, when £10,000 in personal property is to be
a sufficient qualification.”

The General Turnpike Acts,
W. K. Dehany (1823).

7. Following his appointment, Hayton was required to provide the Trust
with a bond for £500 in respect of his “truly accounting”. On his
retirement, he was presented with a piece of silver plate valued at 100
guineas and later became a trustee.
8. The General Turnpike Act 1822 (2 Geo 4 c.126). The role of
Clerk continued to be discharged by Grover’s firm until the Trust was
wound up in 1873.
9. Possibly George Creed of the partnership Creed and Griffin, surveyors
and auctioneers of Hemel Hempstead.
10. The Exchequer Bill Loan Commission was set up under The Poor
Employment Act 1817 to help finance public work projects that would
generate employment. Commissioners included the civil engineer Thomas
Telford. The trustees received a reply from the Commissioners, which was
discussed at their meeting on 21st July 1823, but whatever terms were
offered, the “Trustees resolved it would be more expedient to borrow
Money necessary for these Improvements of Individuals, and the Clerk is
directed to make the necessary Inquiry for procuring the same of persons
willing to advance it.”
11. Road improvements referred to in the minutes at this time (but not
specified in the 1823 Act) for which no clear details are given, include
realignment of the road at Hunton Bridge (including a new bridge) and at
Cow Roast; work at Dunsley, presumed to be the realignment of the road
around the hamlet to its present course; reducing the gradient of Beggar
Bush Hill (i.e. Tring Hill); and work at Aston Clinton.
12. According to Aylesbury historian Robert Gibbs, the Crown Inn was not
demolished, but . . . .

“By the formation of the New Road [i.e. the turnpike
extension], in the year 1826, the Crown Inn was much reduced in
extent, and was subsequently altered in its general character.
It has of late years been so modernized as scarcely to be known as ‘the
old Crowne’ of former years. It once had its intersecting
gateway-entrance and other prominent features incidental to old
hostelries, indicating the commercial character for which it was
originally erected. Before its alterations, made consequent upon
the formation of the New Road, it had much of the character of the
King’s Head, and was probably a building of about the same date, but of
greater extent in its appurtenances; it had gardens, a bowling-green,
extensive stabling, and out-premise cohering a large area. Its principal
frontage was to the Market Place, but was intercepted by encroachments;
its position resembled that of the King’s Head.”

Buckinghamshire: A History of Aylesbury with Its
Borough and Hundreds, Robert Gibbs (1885).